Something seems wrong to me in this chapter, but I can't put my finger on it. I'm considering re-writing this chapter, but I'll wait until I see what you guys think. .

I won't pretend that I hadn't seen her tears…nor shall I pretend that those tears didn't make me feel something close to terrible…but there was nothing I could do for now. If I tried to speak, she would silence me with a glare, as though silently warning me to say nothing. If I looked in her direction, she would look away and pretend not to have seen. I wouldn't go out of my way to earn her forgiveness, but something inside of me admitted that a small apology of some description was necessary.

Once back at the inn, I was faced with a problem (other than Elena's anger) that I was unsure of how to remedy: How was I going to unlock and open the door while holding her? She was unable to stand without support, and so putting her down would be impossible until we were inside.

Elena had always been the impatient one. Whilst I was thinking of how to solve this problem, she sighed irritably, and forced herself to move a little. I made no protest, but at the same time, I worried for her. Shifting a little in my arms, she moved to a position that allowed her to reach where I had been storing the keys. I felt my eyes widen a little as her hand accidentally brushed against my body while she retrieved the room key. However, I was given no time to dwell on this, as my thoughts were interrupted by her annoyed grumbling of: "Men!" and such.

"It's 'cause your outfit is as inconvenient as it is extravagant!" she snapped somewhat angrily. In that moment, my mind was partly agreeing with her in more ways than one.

"Yours, too." I felt like saying, (of course only referring to the part about it being 'inconvenient') but fortunately, my mouth remained shut. Wait…what the hell was I thinking? That…that wasn't something I wanted from her…I couldn't help but wonder then: What trouble would that little tease have gotten me into? Much, I imagine…considering that it was Elena that I was with at this moment. I wouldn't have truly meant it even if I had said it…as I have said: 'it' wasn't something I desired from her. All that had happened was that her accidental touch had just caught me off guard. That was all. Besides the brief surprise it had given me, it had been meaningless.

Reaching over, she shoved the key into the lock with some force (more so than was necessary, anyway…) and unlocked the door, opening it and removing the keys again on the way inside. I must have upset her more than I had first thought…

I was rather surprised at the condition of the room. Bullets were embedded in the walls, but that wasn't what had shocked me. The door of the bathroom had been hit by several waves of bullets by the looks of things, and large pieces of wood that had splintered off now rested on the floor.

Gently placing Elena down on the bed, I returned to the main door of the room and shut it. I could feel Elena's eyes burning in my back, as the coldest of chills rushed down my spine. "Elena, I…" I began, unsure of what I was going to say…perhaps it was an attempt at an apology, but before I even had the chance to find out, Elena had interrupted:

"Don't bother. I don't want to hear it," she grumbled, soon looking away and taking her icy glare with her. It seemed that my words had gotten me into quite some trouble with her, by the looks of things.

"As you wish," was all that I could think of to say. Her injuries were the priority right now, after all. I had remembered seeing a first-aid kit in one of the cupboards here somewhere, so I began searching for it.

My search had taken me to the bathroom, and I couldn't help but notice the shirt that I had lent her lying discarded on the ground. I didn't care about that…what concerned me was the amount of blood that had soaked it. This confirmed my worries that Elena's injuries were more serious than she would admit.

"If you're expecting me to wear one of your shirts again, you can forget it!" her voice called from the next room. Usually, I would have at least chuckled at that statement, or come back with something like: "Not after the state my other one got into after I lent it to you," but I did neither. I remained silent until I had found the first-aid kit, and returned to her side. In order to respond to her previous statement, I merely shook my head. "No. You needn't worry about that…"

Once more, the room was dominated by silence as I watched her, unsure of what to say. I knew that I ought to tend to her injuries, but how was I to ask her to allow me to without being rewarded with a slap (or maybe worse, knowing Elena…) for my efforts? Her gaze had been lingering on the first-aid kit that I was holding, and she gently took it from me rather than snatching it. Opening it up, she glanced over at me, and requested quietly: "Let me see it." Of course I knew that she was referring to my wound, but I stared at her, confused. Hers were by far worse…why was she concerned about my injuries when by now, I thought that she would be treating her own?

"What?"

"Your wound. Let me see it," she repeated, those honey-colored eyes never moving from my direction.

"Why? Yours are more-…"

"Valentine!" she snapped, the quiet gentleness immediately disappearing from her voice, her request sounding much more like an order. What was I to say to that? I had annoyed her enough already. By not letting her have her way, I would only be worsening matters. It felt as though I had no choice but to fulfill her request and allow her to see me wound. I only hoped that after this, she would allow me to tend to hers so that she would no longer have to suffer them. Elena was never the kind to admit that she was hurting, (I knew that well enough from what happened in the Northern Crater) but I knew. Although others may have been blinder to her pain as they believed her lies of 'I'm fine.' I wasn't quite so easy to fool. I knew…all due to the fact that Elena was easy to read. She was stubborn, naïve, and desperate to prove herself. Yes, that was she...

And so, a short sigh managing to escape me, I nodded once and decided to co-operate. Taking a moment or so to undo the several clasps that fastened my cape, I allowed it to fall to the bed. Once removing the top part of my leather outfit and casting my gauntlet aside, I took a moment to look down at the wound to my chest. It looked far more serious than it felt…several streams of blood seeped from it and trickled down my chest. I simply watched the thin rivers of crimson run…Eventually; I moved my attention to Elena. "Satisfied?"

I was surprised when I received no immediate answer. It was something quite strange…especially from Elena. Stranger still was the way in which she was looking at me…her eyes wide, and her lips slightly parted by just a fraction. As…attractive as her shocked silence was, it was unnerving. "Is something wrong?"

"…N…n-...n-no! No…um…nothing! I…I'm sorry." With that, she fell silent once more.

"Well. Now that you've had your fill…." I began, preparing to begin replacing my top and cloak, only to feel her grab my arm, stopping me from reaching for my top. "Wh-…?"

"Don't be stupid," she muttered.

'Don't be stupid'? What in the world did that mean? How, may I ask… was preparing to get dressed 'stupid'?

"What?" I found myself asking, only to gain an irritated sigh as a response. Her temper was beginning to get on my nerves a little, indeed…but I did all that I could not to let it show. In any case, her actions soon answered my question: removing a piece of material from the first-aid kit, she also removed a small bottle, pouring a small amount of the contents on to the material in her other hand. Her gaze moved to my wound, and she moved a little closer, an expression of concentration taking over from her previously irritated one. Such concentration and seriousness…she looked almost…no. Forget it.

I soon felt the moisture of the liquid she had used contact my skin, and I had to stop myself from flinching as a dull stinging sensation began rushing through the wound. Such a sting felt odd in comparison to the softness of her touch as her other fingers (that weren't holding the material to my chest) gently brushed against my chest. Her touch felt almost soothing, and I found myself closing my eyes, shutting out the pain and only focusing on cherishing the minor bliss that her touch brought me…I didn't care that it was only accidental.

In truth, I didn't completely understand what I was feeling at that moment…even less why I was feeling it. To me, it was difficult enough to accept that her brief touch was enjoyable…I told myself that the reason why I wished to cherish such gentleness was merely because of the discomfort that the wound had brought me. That would remain my excuse. I felt nothing for her, as I have stated many times. There was no soft spot in my heart for her…she was not the one I wanted, just as I was not the one for her…and that was how things would remain. It was truly a mystery to me why I was giving such…trivial matters so much thought.

Feeling that soothing touch soon stop, my thoughts of her followed suit. My eyes sliding open, I gazed down at her as she rooted through the first-aid kit in search of bandages. For the first time in a while, I felt a smile flicker on my lips as I watched her, soon looking away when her search resulted in success and she turned back towards me, bandages in hand.

"Almost done," Elena stated softly, continuing on to wrap the bandages around my wound. All that I could do was watch until she was finished. After a few minutes, she tied the bandage after cutting off whatever was left, and smiled up at me, simply stating: "There. Done it."

"Thank you…" I began. I wondered how I would go about asking her if I could return the favor…however was I going to ask her to remove her shirt so that I could take a look at her injuries without her getting the wrong idea? After careful consideration, I decided that by hinting rather than directly asking, maybe I wouldn't come across as such…a 'pervert' as Elena had previously accused me of being. I would just have to try, and deal with her reaction. Taking a deep breath, I felt my cheeks warm considerably as a faint redness appeared across them…and then I spoke:

"Thank you, Elena. But…now it's your turn."